The April decision of the Supreme Court in Louisiana vs. Callais dismantled Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This decision has had and will continue to have profound implications on our democracy, including a major loss of Black and Latino representation in Congress and state houses across the nation. This ruling also has unleashed a partisan redistricting war that is far from over. 2026 is just a preview. We should expect more waves of redistricting in the buildup to 2028, and again after the 2030 Census, as communities of color across the South and elsewhere are redistricted out of existence.
By now, most nonprofit leaders and democracy advocates are well aware of the fallout, but what can we actually do about it? Specifically, what are the policy levers that could be manipulated to build an inclusive democracy in the years ahead?
The good news is that there are many ideas in the mix:
- There’s talk of a national ban on partisan gerrymandering as well as a renewed push for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore pre-clearance, a rule originally in the Voting Rights Act that required certain states and localities with a history of voter discrimination to get federal approval before making any changes to their voting laws or procedures.
- Some are working to pass state-level VRAs that can require pre-clearance, ban partisan gerrymandering in state and local elections, and more. Presumably, even state VRAs would be limited in how much they can factor in race under the new Callais framework, but they can get us part of the way there.
These are great strategies to reign in the abuses of the winner-take-all electoral system we all know so well. But what if we threw that system out and started anew? In the wake of the Callais decision, there is also new energy building around proportional multi-member districts as a viable solution.
While this idea may seem strange to most Americans, it is being used right now in many of the world’s democracies, and right here at home. It’s used in many American cities at the municipal level: places like Arlington and Charlottesville, VA; Cambridge, MA; Albany, CA; and Portland, OR. Other cities have enacted it and will be implementing it soon like Newburgh, NY; Portland, ME; as well as Skokie and Oak Park in IL.
In Portland, OR for example, the city council is elected from four districts, with each district electing three members using a form of ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting is a system wherein you rank candidates in order of preference instead of picking just one. If no one gets a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their votes go to their next choice. This repeats until a winner, or multiple winners in this case (the top three) are declared. The result is a twelve member council that ensures minority representation without giving up majority control. New coalitions are formed as governing becomes more inclusive. First used in 2024, Portland now has the most diverse city council it has ever had.
The fundamental problem with the single-member, winner-take-all districts most Americans are accustomed to is that they are rife with opportunities to rig the system by manipulating district lines:
- Draw the lines one way, and majority-Black communities can be split across multiple districts to dilute their power—what’s called “cracking.”
- Draw the lines another way and Black voters can be packed into one district leaving all other districts with majority white voters who dominate—what’s called “packing.”
For most of our nation’s history, the redistricting process has been used and abused by those in control to hold onto power and exclude others. Section 2 of the VRA was an attempt to rein that abuse.
With multi-member districts and proportional representation, however, it’s almost impossible to “crack” and “pack” communities out of power. Even if a racial or ethnic group only represents 30% of a district—because they were “cracked”—they would still likely elect at least one of the three representatives. If a community represents 70% of a district—because they were “packed”—they’d likely get to choose the candidate in at least two of the three seats! In this way, the practice of gerrymandering is shut down in its tracks!
The fight in Louisiana would have looked very different. Instead of six single-member, winner-take-all Congressional districts—and a lot of litigation on whether the lines are drawn to create two, one, or zero majority-Black districts—what if there were two larger districts, each electing the top three candidates using a system of ranked choice voting? Under a proportional system, Black voters who make up 33% of the state population, would likely elect at least one candidate of their choice in each of the two districts (two of the six total).
It also would put an end to partisan gerrymandering—which cuts both ways. Massachusetts currently has nine Congressional districts, all are held by Democrats even though 36% of the state voted for Trump in the last election. If the state were divided into three three-member districts, Republicans could likely win 2–3 of those seats. Meanwhile, states like Texas would be sending more Democrats to Congress. Both states might also send a third party candidate or two as well, since the system creates more space for third party candidates to advance and actually win.
Instead of a nation starkly divided into red and blue states, we’d see the actual shades of purple of the nation start to shine through.
But wait, that’s not all! Proportional representation also helps boost voter turnout. We have all heard from someone who does not vote because they feel “locked out,” like their vote “doesn’t matter.” If you are a Republican in Massachusetts, you might feel that way. If you’re a person of color in a district that is 80% white, you may feel that way. But with proportional voting, communities are far less likely to be locked out. At the very least, they have a shot at electing one of the three candidates. This is one of the reasons most European nations that use such a system have higher voter turnout.
But how do we get there from here? In the same way that ranked choice voting has spread in the last few years, groups are working to get more US cities and local governments moving to adopt proportional, multi-member systems. As voters become familiar with the concept, it can spread to states and beyond. In the wake of Callais and all that it entails, now may be the time to really embrace new ideas that move beyond the paradigms that have governed the past.
Additional Resources on Proportional Representation:
- “How to secure a multiracial democracy despite the Supreme Court” by Spencer Overton
- FairVote’s Proportional Ranked Choice Voting Primer
- More Equitable Democracy – host of resources and training curricula to build support
- FairVote Resource – list of cities using proportional representation
- Protect Democracy – data linking to higher voter turnout
- Video demonstration of how multi-member, ranked choice voting works
